It may sound strange to talk about experience in a junior competition, but that’s what probably played a decisive role in today’s 10m Air Pistol Women final: in fact, four of the eight final participant made their international debut in Suhl (GER), and one of them, Italy’s Giulia Campostrini, only had one previous participation in her resume, the 2017 European Championship in Maribor (SLO).
Despite struggling in the first couple of series, where she also hit a dangerous 7.8, India’s 20-year-old Yashaswini Singh Deswal kept the focus on her shooting, eventually climbing atop the table midway through the match and building herself a comfortable lead, then finishing with the Equalled Junior World Record of 235.9 points and the Gold medal round her neck.
It’s India’s 2nd Gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Suhl, as Anish Anish previously won the title in the men’s 25m Standard Pistol Junior event.
The best among the four debutants was Republic of Korea’s Kim Woori, who survived being eliminated in 4th place and crowned her first international appearance with the score of 231.8 points and the Silver medal.
Campostrini also walked on the podium, as she finished in 3rd place with 212.1 points, while the tie-breaking shoot-off between Kim and France’s Mathilde Lamolle placed the French 20-year-old in 4th position with 194.1.
Hungary’s 20-year-old Veronika Major continued her successful transition from Running Target to Pistol shooting, but after pocketing the continental junior title at the 2017 European Championship in Maribor (SLO), she shot poorly in Suhl, missing the 10th ring with her last seven shots and placing 5th with 170.4 points.
The three other debutants finished in the bottom-3 positions, as Russian Federation’s Nadezhda Koloda (17) took 6th position with 152.3 points, Republic of Korea’s Jun Minju (17) placed 7th with 131.7, and United States’ 16-year-old Sarah Eungee Choe concluded 8th with 110.3 points.
The ISSF Junior World Championship Rifle/Pistol will continue tomorrow with four more finals: the 50m Pistol Men at 12:30 pm (UTC+2:00), the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men at 3:05 pm, the 10m Air Rifle Men at 4:45 pm and the 10m Air Rifle Women at 6:15 pm.
The 50m Pistol Men and the Air Rifle finals will be streamed live on the ISSF website, on the Federation’s Livestream channel and on its official Facebook page.